Ball State University's McKinley Avenue parking garage has 363 spaces that have yet to be filled, Parking Services officials said.
"We have a lot of space in there that we would like to sell, and we're trying to figure a way to market it to commuter students," Sandy Pyle, police corporal, said. "Sometimes commuter students don't know it's available to them. Everybody that comes in, we tell them that's available."
The McKinley Avenue garage, open fully for the first time this semester, went on sale to students Aug. 29, Nancy Wray, Parking Services office manager, said. Before then, it was open only to faculty.
An R7 permit, which commuters can obtain from Parking Services, allows them to park in the McKinley Avenue garage or in any green commuter lot, except green restricted commuter lots in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center garage, Pyle said. Costs for the R7 permit include $65 to register a vehicle for the year and another $90 per semester.
The McKinley Avenue garage is one of three parking garages on campus; the others include the Student Center and Emens Auditorium garages, Wray said.
The McKinley Avenue garage includes 585 total spaces, 99 of which are paid visitor spaces, Pyle said. The first floor consists of the paid visitor parking while the remaining floors consist of restricted parking, she said. Restricted parking spaces are first come, first serve.
"We've had it open and available to students for a few weeks now," Wray said. "A few students have bought into there already-there's just plenty left."
She is not sure why so many spaces are still empty, she said.
"I don't have any idea-it just isn't filling up," she said. "I don't know if (students) they can't park there or if they are not interested in paying money to park there," Wray said. "It's a nice central location on campus-you don't have to worry about hunting a space."
Pyle said she is not sure if students simply are not bringing their cars to campus because of high gas prices.
Because freshmen have to park at the stadium and upperclassmen who live in the residence halls need a housing permit to park, Parking Services is trying to market the McKinley Avenue garage primarily to commuter students as well as to more faculty and staff. Pyle said the garage would be a convenient spot not only because it is centrally located but because it includes an elevator.
However, because many students are used to parking where they parked in the past, students still park primarily in the green commuter lots, Pyle said.
"The south end gets filled up really quickly and then the north end," she said.
Over time, however, Wray expects more commuters to fill up the McKinley Avenue garage.
"Once it catches on, I think it will sell once they find out how convenient it is," she said. "I know it's an added cost, but it just makes parking so easy."
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